Coya at W Doha organised an event to welcome Mutaz Essa Barshim back home after his big win at the Tokyo Olympics 2021 – and FACT managed an exclusive chat!

It’s been a frantic month for Mutaz Essa Barshim, the Qatari high jump star, since he added the only medal that was missing from his cabinet — the Olympic gold. Mutaz’s win also emerged as the symbol of sportsmanship around the world after he and his Italian rival and friend Gianmarco Tamberi shared the gold after both were locked at 2.37m in the competition.

“Can we have two golds?” was the Qatari competitor’s question to the referee, and the celebration thereafter by the two gold medallists won accolades around the world.

Coya at W Doha recently organised a homecoming event for the gold star to welcome him back home with warmth, garlands, bouquets and applause. Brimming with cameras, socialites and media eager to get a glimpse of the gold and its winner as Mutaz entered the venue.

The sportsman though is grounded enough to not let his success go to his head — rather enjoying every moment of it and welcoming fans who come and ask for a photograph.

Tall and humble, Mutaz spoke to FACT in an exclusive conversation about his shared friendship with Tamberi and how he unwinds.

“Tamberi is a very close friend of mine, even outside the track. So, when he was passing through a tough phase of his life, of course I wanted to talk to him and wanted to be there for him like any friend would. So, just talking to him really helped him out. And I’m glad for it. Similarly, when I had my injury and surgery, he was always on the phone with me — just trying to motivate and keep me positive,” says Mutaz.

When he’s not on the track, how does he unwind? He responds: “I’m a very boring person — sitting home, watching cartoons, I love cartoons. Japanese animation, a lot of movies and shows, that’s how I unwind. I don’t go out very often. Its either my house, my friend’s house or my family’s house. That’s it.”

Talking about his most memorable fan moment since his gold win, he says: “I really can’t come up with one moment because there were many. Once I won gold, everybody came out — they were happy. Everybody was sharing with me their stories. So many people said they cried. So, it was a lot, I can’t take a specific moment out. The whole journey was amazing.”✤